Watching
by beehoon
Summary: Edér had not expected to leave Gilded Vale with a crazy Watcher, and certainly not one with one of those easy smiles that wrapped right round her face. Act IV: "Simple enough though. She's more to me than your grand ideas of gods are to you."
1. Act I

_A/N: Take this as an addition of sorts to Edér's character arc. It's mostly fluffy snippets with a huge chunk of fluff in Acts III and IV. I hope you enjoy, and comments are always appreciated!_

* * *

Act I

* * *

At first, he watched her because no one else was dumb enough to show such interest in the tree. Even glancing at it drew the loving attentions of Raedric's boot lickers, which was why he spent his time contemplating old Swithin swaying in the breeze. The old bastard could have let him take the fall, given that he would be next to dance the hempen jig. Should have, maybe.

Besides, she was much easier on the eyes.

The newcomer stared at the dwarven animancer's corpse, soft lips slightly parted. Bad idea doing that round here. Too many flies. He refilled his pipe twice before she finally blinked, rolling her neck and kneading it. Her nervous elf friend was on her in a second, and whatever she said made his eyebrows try to meet his hairline. He pulled her away from the tree quickly, shooting a glance at Urgeat.

Edér watched her approach with no attempt to disguise his interest. She looked away, then let her gaze dart back towards him before he caught it and held it.

"Seventeen and a half," he said with a smirk.

* * *

It didn't take him long to gather his belongings. He had been prepared for this day for years. Funny that most of what he had was from the war. Scale armour. Sabre. Shield.

He had to be crazy. But there was something earnest about her, and she had to be telling the truth. No one joked about Watchers these days.

Maybe both of them would get some answers in Caed Nua.

He pulled the door to his house shut for the last time and locked it out of habit. Don't know when he'd be back. If ever.

"That was a big sigh." She sounded sympathetic.

"Yeah. It's, ah, been a long time coming."

"Leaving, you mean?" She laughed at the look on his face. She had one of those easy smiles that wrapped right round her face, eyes dancing with glee. "Sorry. I couldn't help myself."

"Mmhmm. Come on, Nineteen."

"I thought I was Twenty-two." She looked more amused than annoyed.

"Nah. Watchers aren't real popular round here, remember?"

"Well, we've got a unanimous vote to leave right now before we all get hung or lynched." She grinned at Aloth, who smiled ruefully. "Come on. Let's go get some fresh air."

* * *

He was all too aware of her presence by his side. Had to be; she kept stopping dead in her tracks. Aloth very quickly learned to keep his distance.

As always, she was staring at...not much, as far he could tell. The Black Meadow was exactly that; didn't have anything besides burnt grass and the occasional set of dragon bones.

"You know, we agreed to not let you pick the sights when we went sightseeing."

She didn't seem to hear him, but a moment later, her skinny shoulders rose in an expressive shrug. "I didn't actually agree, you know." The smile she threw him was mischievous.

"Cease your mewling, Eothasian," the priest growled. His bulging eyes ran the length of her frame as he leered. "You'll see worse sights than the Watcher. Maybe you'll see her after she's been put to the flame, no different from the burnt out husk of your god. Will your cock still smoulder for her then?"

Edér opened his mouth but she lifted a hand. "How strange that you fear the fire more than any of us," she said softly.

She hooked her thumbs through the straps of her pack and walked away as Durance spat on the ground. The priest still trailed behind, all of them silent as the Watcher led them on.

* * *

He couldn't look at her without thinking about Maerwald, baggy-eyed and mad.

Bad way to go. Explained a lot about how there was something _off_ about her. He thought about it as they camped in the ruin while the eastern barbican was being repaired. The black hound nosed at his hand and he scratched the old girl's chin. She stared at him with soulful brown eyes while he in turn watched the Watcher talk to Kana, arms folded and chewing her lip.

She looked up at his approach, expression strangely apprehensive until the dog licked her hand and she smiled.

They wandered the grounds, pointing out mice scurrying busily. She made vague promises to bring a cat or three to Caed Nua. A good old ginger tabby, with cucumber green eyes. Perhaps a fancy calico. He opined that she should get at least one that wouldn't bully the black hound.

He asked her to come with him to the archives in Defiance Bay. She agreed easily. They both knew she needed his shield (there were more than a few dents in the larder door that had been meant for her head), but she never asked him to stay.

She didn't seem like the type who asked for much.

And he owed her.

* * *

He wasn't surprised to see her when he opened the door. He had left them at the inn, pointing out that he would rather sleep in his own bed while they were in Gilded Vale.

"Hey." She looked up at him with guileless dark eyes. "Can I come in?"

He stood aside to let her through. She made a beeline for the fire, sighing in contentment as she rubbed her hands together vigorously to warm them.

"Is this where you grew up?" The question was gentle.

"Yeah. Looks a bit different now. We didn't have a floor back then. Was a good idea when you had Woden and me in the house. This one time, he tried to prove to me that candle wax didn't get used up when it was burned. Would have set the house on fire if it wasn't just a dirt floor." He made a face. "Could have been worse. Wanted to show it to me in the temple of Eothas but chickened out at the last second."

"I can't imagine that would have impressed your parents."

"Nah. They got used to it, having two boys." He exhaled slowly. "Really should go see them, when all this is done. Dunno what I'd tell them about all this."

"I'm sorry about the priests." She touched his arm briefly. "I hope they find peace in their next lives."

"Yeah. I hope so too. They were good people. No one should die like that." He tilted his head to look at her. "You don't have to worry about me. You did the right thing. Gave him a second chance. I think Eothas would have approved, if he could. Dunno if I could have done what you did, but it was the right thing."

The set of her shoulders relaxed. "I'm glad. I just wanted to make sure you were all right."

He shrugged. "As good as it gets. At least I can be in the Gilded Vale without feeling a tickle round my neck. The townies are good with you for now. But Raedric won't like what you're doing here. He's not real keen on giving people hope." He looked sideways at her. "You're good at that, Nineteen."

She grimaced. "May as well get a good dinner in before Raedric decides to make us swing. Tenfrith promised to whip up something special. And then if you want to stay with us at the inn, there's nice fresh sheets, but they've only got the big room for us. Given the choice, I'm not sure that I would choose to share a room with Durance either."

He looked around the dusty house. "We'll see. Always was more comfortable in my own bed."

"I do miss that," she admitted. "It would be nice to have somewhere to call home again."

"Yeah. This—this isn't home anymore. Hasn't been for a while." Not without his parents and Woden bustling about, joking as they got ready for dinner. His mother always found chores for them. Kept them out of trouble, she said. Him and Woden still managed to steal tasters from the stewpot, earning raps on the knuckles with a wooden ladle. Their father would look up from where he was smoking his pipe and shake his head. Should know better than to mess with your ma.

It never was this quiet at home. He'd spent too many evenings like this in the past years, when the only thing that broke the silence was the cracking fire.

She laid a cool hand on his forearm, her pretty face all soft and sad. She was far from home—or maybe she too didn't have a home anymore. "Let's go."

He doused the fire before they left, and figured he'd be too lazy to relight it for just himself later. He might not want to endure the priest snoring, but maybe a wink or two at Pasca might make a few changes here and there. The Watcher might be diplomatic, but she didn't know how to use her natural charms to get what she wanted.

* * *

"If it doesn't get cleaned, it's going to get infected, and then you'll be stuffed." She folded her arms when he arched an eyebrow. "I'll do it. I'm not a mad priest of Magran, so you can't object."

"Don't usually mind when a pretty lady wants me to take my shirt off, but I'm fine." She glowered, scrunching her button nose. Laughing at her made him cough painfully.

"Intact skin does not ooze blood. And your armour is in bad shape, which logically would imply that _you_ are in bad shape." Another scale clinked onto the flagstones as he shifted his weight, leaning against the wall.

"Fine, fine. Only for you, Nineteen." He peeled his scale armour off with difficulty, grunting with the effort, and let it fall to the floor. The padded shirt underneath came off sticky with blood. She dragged a chair over for him to sit in, close to her bandages and a copper basin filled with boiled water. He couldn't help but wince as she cleaned the gash.

He didn't have to see her face to know that she was smiling. "It's all right to show that you're in pain, you know. And I wish you'd let me get Nedmar or one of the other priests. I'm not the best with this."

"Nah." He gritted his teeth. "Don't think they're too pleased about us killing Raedric, even if we did get rid of that necromancer."

He swore when she pressed firmly on the wound. "Sorry. Got to stop the bleeding. It could be worse, for what it's worth." She looked up at him. "There are cipher techniques to block pain. I'll check the library here, but I doubt they'd allow such blasphemy."

He laughed weakly as she bound the wound. "Suppose not. I'll be all right." He stood gingerly and she dug through the cupboards before handing him a clean shirt, turning her back while he struggled into it. "Had you pegged as someone who liked to get involved. Told ya that maybe I wasn't Nineteen after all."

She threw her hands up. "Fine, fine. Get some rest, Twenty. We'll get Tuatanu to have a look at your armour when we head back to the Gilded Vale. I'll have another look at the wound in a few days. Do let me know if you feel like you're dying before then."


	2. Act II

Act II

Every time they passed one of the Dozens, she would lean over and bleat under her breath, making him snort with laughter.

"Better watch it now, or they'll will be giving you all the wrong kinds of attention."

"Inconceivable, I haven't got the warm fleecy hindquarters for it." She put her hand on her hip and his eyes lingered longer than was polite.

* * *

She stretched the pink scar on his chest between her fingers experimentally. "Looks good. I think my work here is done. It took long enough."

"Could find another reason for you to get me with my shirt off." He winked when she swatted at him. "Just sayin'."

"Shove off, Edér. We'll go to the Salty Mast and you can go find someone who'll swoon over how tough you are with all your scars."

"Appreciate you helping me out, Nineteen. I mean with this." He pointed at the scar and was pleased to see the faint shift in her expression.

"Any time." She smiled faintly. "I'm just glad it's healed nicely. Do try not to get stabbed in the chest with a great sword again." The door clicked shut behind her, but opened again just long enough for a quick warning. "Don't pick at it." He dropped his hand guiltily.

* * *

She tugged at his sleeve excitedly and shoved a warm paper bag at him. He opened it to find small golden brown cakes, still warm from the oven. He bit into one without taking his eyes off her, the taste of honey sweet on his tongue. "Like having the best lover of your life."

She flushed and but laughed it off. "You're easy to please! I know where to buy these now, so we can always get more."

"Good." He polished off another two of the tiny cakes. "You gotta stop giving me things, people are gonna think you're playing favourites."

She looked a little flustered at that. "I bought them cakes too."

He couldn't keep the smirk off his face for the rest of the day.

* * *

The inn was quiet at this hour; late enough that all the drunks had been pointedly asked to leave, early enough that Ableheart and the rest were still abed. She was seated alone at the bar, nursing a cup of tea and rubbing her puffy eyes from time to time.

"Bad dreams?"

"The usual."

He slid into the seat next to her, pulling the stool close so that she brushed against him every time she moved, noting that she didn't lean away. "What d'you see that gets you so worked up?"

She was silent for a time, combing her hair with her fingers and staring ferociously at the varnished wood grain of the bar. "Pillars of adra, I think. It's more what I hear. Voices, thousands of them. Sometimes glimpses of what I see during the day. People being tortured. Racks. Pyres. That sort of thing. I suspect my past life was colourful. Wonder whether I was on the giving or receiving end."

She was asking that? She always saw her way through to how she could help. Had to be a Watcher thing.

She saw the disbelieving look on his face. "Look at Maerwald," she said shortly.

* * *

The Salty Mast was everything the name promised. The Watcher cast an apprehensive eye around the crowded room, air heavy with the smell of cheap ale, sex and dyrcap. The aumaua proprietor sized them up with delight; new faces, weapons and armour of fine quality, a Godlike with them. And groups cost extra. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted an elf lift his goblet when he made eye contact with the Watcher. At the bar, a muscular man clad in silks stroked his moustache speculatively as he looked at her before bending low to whisper in an orlan's ear. She appeared completely oblivious to it all, which never failed to bemuse him. Didn't want to notice, maybe.

"Nothing like this in Gilded Vale. Just Walaruna, the milk maid. She knew what she was doing." He wasn't disappointed when her eyes narrowed with displeasure.

"Now to find a home for my other staff," Durance said with dark glee.

"Bazzo." Pallegina's feathers ruffled, but she laid a gentle hand on the Watcher's shoulder and steered her next to Edér, where the Maea could cast an appraising eye on her.

Kana coughed awkwardly while Iselmyr cackled behind them. "Aye, that one's staff don't deserve the name. No better than this one's kindled twig."

Her eyebrows knit comically as she cast a sideways glance at him, mouth quirking. Edér winked at her, drawing a snide curl of a lip—she had not forgiven his comment from before.

Her aloofness lasted for all of two minutes; a stocky dwarf reached for her arse and she shrank back against Edér, who felt beholden to make it clear that his advances were unwelcome. She stayed close to Edér after. He might have otherwise regretted not having some time to himself there, but he barely noticed it in the blaze of her presence.

* * *

It was odd change to be sitting around waiting. They had an hour before that shifty actor wanted to meet them in Lumdala's house; not enough time to do anything but walk around the Copperlane market. She had sent the others to do exactly that, but he found her standing on one of the bridges, face turned to the sun.

She was watching a woman and her young child playing on the narrow strip of grass. The mother seemed to enjoy counting the blades of grass as her child broke them off by the chubby handful. The Watcher's face was grave despite their laughter.

"Something on your mind?" he asked, leaning against the railing next to her.

"Just that life is a little different for me than for many, I suppose," she said quietly.

"Can see what you mean." He considered the look on her face. "Can't be easy on you."

"Yeah. But I'm still sane for now. Can't complain. Life was pretty good until the past few months." She looked sideways at him. "The last fifteen years must have been awful for you."

"Mm. Guess I should have gone to Aedyr with my parents. Funny, you know. I really did think it was gonna get better. Heh. Just got worse."

"I'm sorry. You're strong—to keep faith in the face of all that."

"Not sure I'd say that." He exhaled. "Since I ran into you under that tree though... The wind's changing."

She raised her eyebrows sceptically. "All I've done is introduce you to shades, rabid animals and smelly cultists, not to mention the distinct lack of damsels in distress for you to save. Which—if we're being honest here—is the whole point of adventuring, no?"

He chuckled. "Oh, I dunno, suppose we could call you a damsel—" She flushed and glared at him. "You're in strife, but you can handle yourself. Don't need much saving. Reckon that counts?"

"Perhaps. And when the damsel is saved, what then?" she asked with a note of challenge in her voice, chin tilting up just a little.

"Who knows? It's up to the damsel." He grinned rakishly.

She shot him a withering glare, but a small smile was playing at the corners of her lips. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see then."

* * *

The dogs ran to him when they caught his scent, shamelessly begging for belly rubs until she whistled them back over. She was inspecting the hedge maze with a critical eye. "It seems a rather inefficient way of securing this border."

He shrugged. "If they're too dumb to keep turning left till they get out, they weren't gonna cause too much hassle anyhow."

She checked the weapons on her belt. "I was going to see how well this worked. Want to keep me company?"

"Could think of worse ways to spend the afternoon. So long as we get back before dinner."

She laughed. "You should know by now that I never miss a hot meal. Let's go. I've got the map just in case, and the pups will always find the kitchen from anywhere on Eora."

He managed to grab her as she came around a corner twice before she wised up to him. She ducked out of the way when he charged towards her again, missing her on the first go but catching her around the waist when she stopped dead in her tracks, doubled over with laughter. She yelped as his momentum knocked her clean off her feet. He managed to catch most of his weight with his hands, terrified that he had hurt her until she started laughing again, so hard that tears streamed down her face, and then so was he, their sides heaving as they gulped in air between hysterical sobs.

They didn't get very far that day, in more ways than one. He lay awake under his fine wool blankets that night, thinking of the thin wall between them, and how she felt pinned under his weight, so close that he could have tasted her lips if he had just—

This was just another of his dumb ideas.

* * *

He didn't need to talk about the Purges, not when he was so close to an answer about why Woden fought for Readceras. He wanted to let it pass, to let the two idiots move on. He just wanted to get to that metal piece winking at him in the afternoon sunlight.

She pushed past to stand in front of him, squaring her skinny shoulders and his jaw dropped. What in the hells was she doing?

The lead moron looked her up and down, leering at her. "Maybe we'll start a new Purge, right here. What are you going to do about it, girly?"

That stupid bastard didn't have a shield, and he was annoying the craziest Watcher in the Dyrwood. Eder could see clear over her head, and the fury in her voice did not cow the looters. Should have, if they had half a brain between them. "This isn't about gods. It's just about you being ignorant arseholes."

The man drew his sabre—standard issue, like the one Edér had, which was now hanging on the wall in Caed Nua. She demonstrated precisely how crazy she was by dropping to one knee and sighting along her blunderbuss. The man's eyes widened. Surely she didn't walk around with a loaded gun in the holster—and received a gutful of lead before he could move or finish that thought.

Edér caught the arrow with his shield as she slipped the gun back into its holster and whipped out her stilettos in one smooth motion. Purple light flared and the second man froze, arbalest dropping from numb fingers.

Edér had once asked her to show him what that felt like. She had refused and he kept badgering her until she finally let the purple light flare around her fingers and he almost fell over, pins and needles shooting up his leg. Her small strong hands had caught his forearms and she had looked up at him, alarm and apology written all over her sweet face. Later she had admitted that no, that was nowhere as bad as what she did to anyone who actually was trying to kill them.

The others had drawn their weapons, but they looked at her, then she threw him a questioning glance, stiletto to the man's throat. He shook his head. The blade slid in and out gently. It was a soft death. A kinder one than that man had given to many Eothasians. He was dead the moment he raised arms against them. It was just a matter of who killed him and the Watcher had never taken kindly to bullies.

She wiped her stiletto on the dead man's pants with quick jerky motions before turning to him. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. They were right, it _was_ short work."

She inclined her head and the others spread out, creating a perimeter. She didn't waste time heading straight for the mud patch. She never did.

"Hey, Nineteen. Next time, stay behind me, all right? Don't want you getting hurt."

She was crouching to examine the small metal spike in the mud. She rose to her feet at his voice, pushing her hair behind her ears. "Me neither." Something raw and vulnerable flickered behind her eyes before she jerked her gaze away to return to the task at hand. She scraped away the mud with both hands and he hurried to join her, head full of the woman who would stare down murderers and root around the mud for him. Within minutes, he braced his feet in the slick mud and pulled; out came a Readceran standard piece.

He stuck it in the stream to clean it, and before he knew it, she was holding out a hand to him. He took it hesitantly, her slim fingers as cold as the icy water.

He had often wondered what she saw when she looked at him. Did she touch the souls of everyone they met? Did spending so much time with her make it easier?

The breeze rippled through the lush grass of Cliaban Rilag, stirring her hair. She swayed a little, eyes staying resolutely shut, and he tightened his grip, ready to catch her should she fall.

When she finally spoke, a familiar grey pall settled over the world.

* * *

The brightness she had sparked in him was not completely lost. Every time their eyes met, the darkness fell away a little.

He finally apologised one night as they were tempting Itumaak with scraps from dinner. She didn't look at him, keeping her attention on the fox and offering him food in the palm of her hand. "You didn't need to wait for someone else to tell you what was right. Did you, Itumaak? Who's a clever fox?" She scratched his ears and the fox grinned at her, tongue lolling. Itumaak whined when she stood and stretched, making her joints pop.

She always did give him a lot to think about.

* * *

The old bastard fled as Edér drew his sabre, Crucible Knights clanking in pursuit. He heard the sharp intake of breath and dropped his sabre in favour of catching her weight as she fell forwards. It clattered down the stairs and he winced at the thought of what that would do to its edge. He carried her to the cover of a convenient alcove, Pallegina shielding them as they moved. Only the wounded and dead were in here—for now.

He laid her flat after retrieving the gun from her belt and handing it to Kana. Where did he put her hands? He settled them on her belly, relieved by the gentle rise and fall of her breath, unnerved by how he had laid her out like the dead.

He jostled her shoulder before tentatively touching her face. Pallegina frowned, feathered brow furrowing, and moved her hand sharply through the air. "She will never wake like that." Pallegina had slapped her quite hard when she had one of her turns in Valewood.

"Would rather not annoy her. People who do that tend to return to the Wheel real quick." Her skin was soft under his rough, clumsy hands. "Come on, Nineteen. We need to talk about how you keep fainting at the worst times."

"Un postenago in amore." The paladin sounded disgusted.

Aloth gritted his teeth. "If it wasn't for the rioting mobs, this would be all very sweet, but it won't be long before they turn on us so I strongly suggest that we leave the city. If Edér carries her, we should be capable of protecting them both until we reach safety."

A cool hand closed over Eder's. He took both of hers in his and squeezed gently. She mumbled blearily, "You're upside down."

"Hey, you're alive!" He looked over her with a frown. She looked dazed as he carefully sat her up, leaning more weight against him than he liked. "Can you move? We shouldn't stick around. When Dyrwoodans get stirred up they like to start burning things."

"Charming," the elf wizard muttered.

She was looking past him again, this time to a guard whose breaths gurgled wetly.


	3. Act III

Act III

* * *

"Hey. Hey!"

He was seriously considering that bucket of water when she woke with a gasp, face streaked with tears. "Edér?" She smiled tremulously at him. "No bucket of water and no punch to the face? Third time lucky then."

"I have this rule, y'see. Don't punch a friend more than once a week."

She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Good to know. I can deal with a weekly punch, but not one every night." She frowned at the look on his face. "It's not that bad. I get back to sleep."

"Yeah?" He wasn't convinced. "Come on, I'll make you a warm drink."

She kept her blanket around her shoulders as she sipped the cocoa. Her eyelids were drooping when he took the mug back from her. She hummed in thanks before asking shyly, "Would you just...talk to me while I go to sleep? I think it might help. Hearing your voice, I mean."

He reached out and tucked some stray hair behind her ear, careful to be as gentle as he could, not exactly sure that he remembered how to breathe. "'Course. You'd best get back to sleep now, and I'll think of something to tell you. Could tell you how crazy you are, but I think I tell you that too much anyhow."

"Oh shush. No wonder I'm going mad, with friends like this!" She wagged a finger at him.

"Back to bed, Nineteen. Time for some shuteye. Have I told you about the time I tried to jump off that waterfall in Valewood?"

* * *

"Do you need a hand with that?" Aloth inquired in stiff, polite tones.

"I've got it," Edér replied brusquely as the kindling ignited. The elf hovered but Edér ignored him, piling logs onto the fire. When it was burning steadily, he finally turned to Aloth with a steely gaze, dusting his hands off on his breeches. "What do you want?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to help, that was all."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's what you wanted to do with the Leaden Key." He ran a hand over his short-cropped hair as he glanced at the Watcher, who was cleaning her gun with a distant look on her face. "Took a crazy Watcher to show you what you were doing wrong, huh? Makes two of us." He glanced at Aloth's tense face, lips pressed tight. "Hope she knows what she's doing with letting you stay. Looked into your soul and made sure you're straight."

Aloth's face twitched. "We've naught to hide. Yer fetchin' lass is safe."

"Yeah? Better be. Worst Watcher I ever met. Can't see what's right in front of her."

Iselmyr laughed merrily. "Ac, she sees more'n ye think." Aloth gritted his teeth and when he spoke, it was once again in a refined Aedyr accent. "She's a better friend than I deserve. All I'm asking is that you go and speak to her. She's been even more distracted since we left Defiance Bay. Even compared to yesterday, she's..." He shook his head irritably as he toyed with the frayed edge of his gloves. "I would do this myself, but she probably shares your reservations."

Edér was only half listening, watching the jerky movements of her hands and the small twitches of emotion on her face. She reminded him more of Maerwald than he liked.

He made his way to where she sat after clapping Aloth on the shoulder. Pallegina saw him coming and asked Kana to help her collect more firewood, scowling when he glanced dubiously at their heaping pile. Hiravias waggled his eyebrows before trailing behind.

She holstered her blunderbuss and smiled at his approach. Her foot jigged restlessly; she didn't sit still any more.

"Fire's roaring if you're cold. Looking at you, I'm guessing that's a yes."

"You know me well." She took the proffered hand and pulled herself up with a grunt. "Who's cooking tonight?"

"Pretty sure they've gone to bicker about it. So long as it's not me, it's all good." They settled on a relatively dry rock, close enough to the fire that she kicked off her boots to warm her toes.

One corner of her mouth twitched. "I actually quite like your stew. It's a treat on cold nights."

"Secret recipe," he quipped. "Gives you a reason to keep me around."

She looked down, colour rising to her cheeks. "I don't need a reason," she mumbled. "But I guess there's not much of a reason for you to stay."

He reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "Still owe you one."

Her head snapped up then and her voice was vehement, quiet as it was. "You don't owe me anything. I owe you my life, many times over."

She seemed completely serious. They stared at each other for a long moment before he spoke, choosing his words carefully. "Guess we're square then. Wasn't planning to be anywhere else but here, unless..."

Her expression shifted faster than he could read it, settling into a familiar look. "I don't want you to feel like you have to stay."

"Nah. Not your way, making people do things cause they have to." He slid his hand from her shoulder up her neck, cupping her jaw and lightly brushing the determined line of her mouth with his thumb. "I want to be here. With you. Understand?" he said softly. "And if you don't want that—well, I'm still gonna see this through, so long as you'll have me."

She frowned. "Edér. I—I don't know what's going to happen to me. If I find Thaos in time—which is a big if in itself—I know that only one of us will survive that encounter. And any gambler will tell you that the odds do not favour me."

"Never had a head for numbers. But he's not getting through me. Finally found someone worth fighting for—not gonna spend fifteen years waiting around before doing something about this." He cradled her face in both hands before kissing her, slow and sweet and it was everything he had dreamed of. Her hands balled in his shirt and she breathed his name before pulling away, eyes wide. She huffed in displeasure when he laughed before planting another kiss on the corner of her mouth.

"Guess I'm good at what I do."

She jumped to her feet, glaring at him as she did. "Don't let it get to your head. I wouldn't know if you're good or not, I've never..." Her voice trailed off uncertainly.

He heard Pallegina's voice raised in irritation before she turned to look. He didn't miss the chance to press a last kiss to the hollow of her palm. "We'll talk about this later."

* * *

"Don't pet the stelgaer. _Edér_. And no, Hiravias, I've told you before that I don't want to know what 'petting the stelgaer' means in Eir Glanfath."

* * *

It had been a long day. The gods had spoken, and they all wanted something of her.

He had fought the urge to gather her into his arms each time her gaze wandered into the past. The visions crowded in on her here, which did not surprise him after what the delemgan said about her. He was uneasy about her connection with Thaos, and if he was honest with himself, a little jealous as well. To be drawn to him over the centuries, through many different lifetimes—

They hadn't talked in the days since. Hadn't had the chance. Her friends didn't want to leave her alone, even though he suspected that was exactly what she wanted and needed.

"Sorry, what was that?" she asked with a frown.

There had been no sound but for the creaking of the lift and the distant grumbling of the ogre working the mechanism below. The group exchanged glances, but Hiravias rose to the occasion. "I was just asking Edér what is it about the delemgan that get my tree trunk blooming. My logic tells me that they don't have any good poke holes and probably kill you after copulation. Still..."

No one laughed until she smiled a sad, wan little smile and snorted. The little orlan heaved a sigh of relief before bragging about that one time he caught a delemgan bathing. Sagani announced that speaking of baths, it was high time they had one before dinner. As soon as she reappeared, they all enveloped her again, even Durance. He felt bad for her, with Durance on one side and Hiravias on the other. Hard to work up an appetite between the two smells ('course, they didn't believe in baths and had not taken their turns despite the Watcher's protests).

The priest muttered sourly of revenge, slamming his staff on the floor and swearing vengeance against Magran, and each percussive beat seemed to make the Watcher wilt even more. Sagani eventually shooed her off to bed after she had listlessly picked at her food for a half hour, clucking about how tired she looked. She looked them over before leaving the room. "We'll meet at dawn tomorrow. Take stock of all the supplies you have. If there's anything you need, we can talk about it then."

He caught her on the swaying rope bridge outside her room, looking out at the rain. "Not going in to get warm?"

She had her fingers tucked into her sleeves and her hood up to protect her damp hair from the chill. "Soon."

"You, uh, you don't quite seem like yourself." He positioned himself upwind of her. She looked cold.

"I've been wondering what that even means. I've read every book in the Hall of Revealed Mysteries about the nature of souls. Am I not as much who I was then as who I am now? Does it matter? Well, what a stupid question. Who I was is driving who I am mad, no?"

"Dunno, besides the going mad part." He said it lightly enough, but the corners of her mouth turned down.

She rubbed her hands together slowly before folding her arms again. "I've been thinking about Maerwald." She paused when he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against his side. "You said then that what happened with the raider and the soldier—that would stain him down to his soul."

"Parents always said my mouth runs faster than my head," he mumbled into her hair. "Wouldn't pay attention to everything I say."

She scoffed. "Yes, well. I've done something just as unforgivable." She closed her eyes and leaned against him for a moment before looking him in the eye again. "I had a friend. I betrayed her to Thaos. He tortured her to death. Put her to the wheel."

"That's not you anymore. You're the kindest person I know. And you'd never do that. Not now."

"That's what I'd like to think, but—"

"That's why Maerwald went mad, see? Couldn't move forward. You can't do that, Nineteen. You've helped me leave the past where it belongs. Now it's your turn."

"Sounds easy enough." She laughed bitterly. "Half the time I don't know if I'm in the past or in the present."

He kissed her for the second time, hard enough that she made a small sound in the back of her throat and clung to him like she was drowning. "Stay with me. Here. Now. Doesn't matter, who you were. Who you are is what counts."

A door slammed and they startled, arms tightening around each other. He whispered to her, "And here I thought we'd have a bit of privacy courting."

"Is that what you call this?" she demanded.

"Mm. Haven't brought you flowers yet. But I'm here for you. However I can help, I will." He looked at the dark circles around her eyes and shook his head. "Let's see if we can get you some rest."

She interlaced her fingers with his and buried her face in his neck. "As long as I can hear your voice."

* * *

She fell asleep quickly enough in his bed as he talked about the bet he and Woden had about herding cats. He pulled himself away carefully, aching to explore the lines of her body with his fingers and his mouth. But that wasn't what she needed from him. Not yet.

He settled himself with his palm flat against her back, her skin smooth under the his rough calluses. It wasn't long until she began twitching, breath coming in short sharp whimpers.

She roused when he slid the hand around her waist, drawing her closer until she was snug against him and her breathing slowed until it kept pace with his.

"Hush. You're safe. Thought my snoring was gonna be a problem, but guess I don't have to worry about that bothering you." He breathed in the smell of her.

"Sorry," she murmured before threading her fingers through his again and drawing their hands to her chest where he could just barely feel the flutter of her heartbeat. This time she did not thrash as she slid back into sleep. He lay still until sleep took him too, trying not to think too hard of her and how her sleeping form pressed against him and how every inch of him was fully aware of that.

* * *

"Hey, Nineteen. Got something for you."

She gaped for a moment before bursting into laughter when he stuck the sprig of Admeth's Wyrt behind her ear, small red flowers bright against her dark hair.

"Said I would bring you flowers, didn't I?"

"Did you steal that from someone's garden?" she asked in mixed tones of exasperation and amusement.

"Borrowed," he corrected. "Didn't want to leave you without your flowers for too long. Don't think we'll find any at the bottom of that pit." His hand lingered over her lovely, tired face. "We'll get you a nice big bouquet when all this is done. Let's get moving, the boatman's gonna clobber Durance if we leave them too long."


	4. Act IV

_Ectopsychic echo is the best, I'm not even kidding. I only ever cast it on Edér because, um, reasons? :p_

* * *

Act IV

* * *

"The gods argue about how to best prevent kith society from destroying itself. These...disruptions would not be necessary were mortal instinct not so diseased." Thaos did not bother to hide the disgust in his voice. He gestured dismissively. "No, you have no purpose beyond following your own base desires."

"Heh. Wouldn't expect you to understand." Edér was amused by the irritation on the old bastard's face. "Simple enough though. She's more to me than your grand ideas of gods are to you."

* * *

It was an ugly fight. He glimpsed Pallegina out of the corner of his eye, dwarfed by the statue brandishing an axe twice her height but defiant nonetheless. The other statue swung an equally, stupidly big hammer at him. He deflected most of the force with his shield but the glancing blow still knocked him off his feet. Divine energy crackled over his skin as Durance cast spells of protection, while a blast of cold air told him Hiravias was getting busy. Aloth's incantations sucked malignant vapours into the room, roiling like greasy smoke around the statues.

Edér staggered to his feet before the hammer came down again and between the statue's legs (he didn't even reach its knee), he could see a flash of red armour. She settled into his mind; comfortable, familiar, like a favourite pair of boots, and he held the statue's attention by opening a gash across both its shins with his sabre. It staggered back, straight into a blast from her blunderbuss as they moved as one. He pressed the attack even while deflecting Thaos's spells with his shield, grinning when he felt the psychic energy flow between him and his Watcher. The statue roared. Not sure if it was the beam crushing it or her stilettos plunging into its ankles that made it mad.

Woedica had given the statue enough intelligence to turn in the direction of the pain in its legs, despite Edér slashing wildly at it, yelling for her to move.

He was caught off guard by an explosion of fire and pain that knocked him off his feet again. He rolled instinctively but the hammer still caught him in the side on its backswing. She twisted in his mind and the pain shrunk to a small spot under his ribs—she did end up learning that pain blocking technique.

There a sound best described as _gloop_ , followed closely by the sound of something big crashing to the ground too close for comfort. He pushed himself up with one hand, nearly slipping on the grease. She was standing next to the statue's thick neck, chipping away at it with both blade and power, until with a final pull on the beam, she severed its head, left arm and the shoulder in between. A fiery core tumbled out, expanding in size ominously.

"Get down!" She vaulted over a stone bench nearby and kicked his shield towards him. He braced it before yet another explosion made his ears ring.

Pallegina hauled him up roughly, divine healing flowing from where she had an iron grip on his arm. Nineteen had already left her position behind the stone bench and was running the long way round to the other statue, bypassing the blizzard and hailstorm inexplicably raging in the underground chamber. She seemed to be enjoying her new boots of speed.

Pallegina pushed him behind her in a neat exchange and feinted at Thaos. Edér slammed his shield into the second statue and was rewarded with an giant battle axe swinging towards his head. He dodged but it never finished the movement, coming to a sudden and complete halt. She reinforced the psychic beam between them. He could feel her wordless warmth and worry through it despite the roar of battle flowing through her. Stone talons crunched around the statue's legs, the statue's surface (well, former statue) growing cracked and brittle like weathered rock. The Watcher angled the beam and the legs splintered into shards under the pressure. The statue fell, shattering when it hit the ground. She ran to him and he swung her into the cover of his shield again (the very reason he bothered with this one, beetroots and superb quality notwithstanding, was because they both could fit behind it). They both hunkered down and she pressed both hands around his ears, one side of her head to his chest. He dropped his sabre to cover her remaining ear. Astonishingly, she projected smug satisfaction through the beam before the second explosion distracted them both.

Two down, one to go.

Between his ringing ears and the noise of spells flying, he barely made out Durance snarling as strength returned to his limbs. "Fiery whore...withered tit dry...". Another spell made the hairs on his head stand on end and somehow restored his hearing.

A rushing sound was followed by Aloth's voice, far less measured than usual. "Let's see how well you fight without your Queen's blessings, Grandmaster! Like it, ye fiend?!"

She had already slipped out of his grasp and was rapidly opening new holes in Thaos's robes and flesh from his unguarded flank. Pallegina did not spare Edér a glance when he joined them, so focused was she.

The psychic beam fizzled out just as Thaos staggered, coughing blood. Everyone pulled back, although Hiravias and Durance still reloaded their weapons. It was hers.

The Watcher's hands and eyes were wreathed in purple flames as Thaos turned to face her, before another beam shot forth from her chest to Edér's—heart to heart, he seemed to hear her whisper—and Thaos finally fell.

* * *

She spoke to each of the others in turn first. Liked to save the best for last, she always said. They had a short, awkward conversation; a busybody druid twitching his ear their way until Pallegina grabbed his collar of his robe and hauled him away.

She ran her hands from his shoulders to his hands where he caught them. "They hit you pretty hard there. Are you all right?"

"Couple of cracked ribs, maybe. Nothing to worry about." Edér tried to smile reassuringly as he bent close, wanting to kiss her, unsure if she minded everyone else watching. "I love you, Nineteen. Think you've guessed by now but—important to say these things."

"I love you too," she whispered, and he knew, 'course he did, but hearing it was something else altogether.

She broke away from him after leaning up for a short, sweet kiss. They all waited at the end of the walkway, watching her walk towards the machine until her usual quick pace slowed to a stop. After a moment's deliberation, she spun on her heel and walked back to them, all business again. "You should take cover."

"Nineteen?" he asked uneasily.

Her gaze lingered on him when the others left. Not listening to her when she said things like that was usually a bad idea. "It's a big machine, Edér. It's...just a precaution." She approached to give him another kiss. "Go on, now. I love you." There was a small, pleading note in her voice.

He didn't like the tightness in her face. She was scared, that was plain. And that machine was a whole lot bigger than the one in Heritage Hill. "Listen, you'll finish this, then we'll go home and I'll get you those flowers." He put his arms around her and squeezed her gently, mindful of his own bruised chest. "Promise. You'll love them."

He swallowed hard as he watched her walk back to the controls, more afraid than he had been in years because now he had someone to lose again and she had to do this thing, she had to be the one to operate the machine and _she_ was scared...

She turned back and gave him a pointed look before he reluctantly joined the others behind a low stone wall, locking his shield next to Pallegina's over their heads. The machine groaned into life, copper screeching on adra, spinning faster and faster until light bloomed again in Sun in Shadow.

His sight returned slowly, but he took off at a run when he made out her crumpled, still form, shouting her name.


	5. Epilogue

_A/N: this is the end of this fairly short romance, I hope you enjoyed and thanks for the reviews and faves! :D_

* * *

Epilogue

* * *

It was the change in her breathing that woke him. She heaved a few sighing breaths before her eyes fluttered open. He struggled free of his own bedroll and scooted over to her, kissing her lightly. "Morning. At least, I think it is."

She stretched and yawned before putting her arms around his neck. "Mm. That was the best sleep I've had in months. How long was I out?"

"Better part of a day? Hard to tell down here." He studied her face, all soft and relaxed, much as it had been when she had slept. "Feeling better? Good. Heh. That's real good. You scared me there, you know. Gotta take better care of you. Not that you can't take care of yourself, mind. Just don't wanna lose you." He brushed light kisses along the line of her jaw. "Know what I thought when I first saw you? Said to myself, here comes trouble."

"Trouble?" she asked indignantly. "Others might say, oh, the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew the love of my life had arrived. Or something like that. Something romantic!"

He chuckled. "Those folks don't exactly use their heads. Not the right ones anyway. Takes me a bit longer than that. Oh, don't get me wrong, I noticed you were beautiful all right. And when I figured out that you had the heart to match it—well. Should have said this all before, really. Guess I didn't wanna admit to myself the danger you were in. But here we are." He offered her a waterskin, then a hand up. "We've got a long walk to get back out, and Hiravias is gonna eat all our supplies if we don't get a move on."

* * *

He took a longer bath than any he ever had. He had been thickly coated with the dust from the underground city—she had helpfully pointed out that a lot of it was probably dead Engwithan. When he was done, he spent some time trimming his beard, which had grown long enough for her to tug at playfully. The owner of the Celestial Sapling had put them up in his finest rooms again, but this time at no cost, just for the friends of the delemgan. The delemgan had been waiting when they emerged from the rubble, bowing to the Watcher before personally escorting her to the inn.

He had begun packing away the fine silver shaving tools left by the innkeeper when there was a knock on the door. She was there waiting, smelling sweetly of soap, hair damp and tangled.

"Hey."

She shifted her weight to her other foot uncertainly. "Can I come in?"

He held the door open for her—she went to stand before the fire. They had been here before, except now everything had changed. She inhaled sharply when he wrapped his arms around her from the back, pressing his open mouth against the fluttering pulse under the delicate skin of her neck.

"Durance has left," she said evenly, voice belying her fingers tight on his arms. "He took his staff and his ratty old robe. Nothing else. I can't believe he carried that awful robe in his pack the whole time. Hiravias will leave to find the Fisher Crane tomorrow, and I think he intends to thrash them into acknowledging him as a fully qualified druid. Pallegina and Aloth will both head for Defiance Bay. She must return to the embassy and to the duc bels' displeasure. He wants to dismantle the Leaden Key, and he wishes to start at the old temple. Sagani will go home to her family and the blizzards that she misses so much. Kana can't wait to go back to Rauatai and tell them of all we have seen. I suspect he'll get distracted and travel before he makes it back."

"Mm. And where will you go?"

"Back to Caed Nua, for now. I have some sleep to catch up on." She wriggled in his grasp until she was facing him. "And you?"

He briefly considered deflecting it with humour. Oh, gonna hang around and keep an eye on you and your knack for ending up neck deep in trouble. Depends on what the damsel reckons. The day is saved, and the hero is wondering if he's won her heart. Instead, he lifted her chin with great care. "I'll go where you go, if you can see yourself putting up with me hanging around."

She laughed raggedly. "I'm—glad. I was worried you might have just liked me when I was crazy. No wait, that's crazy. Erm. Thank you. For sticking around."

"'Course." He grinned at her beaming face. "Keep that smile there. Gonna make you as happy as you make me."

"Hey, Edér."

"Yeah?"

"You know all those things that milkmaid knew how to do, and what you do with dyrcap and a comely lass? I'm an, ah, novice to such things. Maybe not even that. Is that a problem?"

"'Course not." He kissed her neck again in the same place that had made her gasp. She pressed against him, fingers digging into his back. "Want me to show you some of that?"


End file.
